How Much Can the Trump Family Redecorate the White House?

Every President and First Lady have the option to add their personal touches.

By
Kayleigh Roberts

Jan 20, 2017

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Once the Trumps are officially the first family, what happens to America's most iconic home? Here's exactly what the Trumps can and can't do to the White House.

They can: Redecorate the living spaces to their taste.

The president's living quarters, when the Reagans lived in the White House.

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The First Family has the most leeway in redecorating the living quarters, which are located on the top two floors of the 132-room building. They'll be able to repaint the rooms to their liking, as well as pick out their own furniture, wall decorations, and bedding.

Usually, the First Lady has taken the lead on redecorating the family living spaces, so if the Trumps follow tradition, Melania's taste will dictate what the top two floors of the White House look like for the next four years.

They can't: Make changes to historic rooms.

The Lincoln Bedroom is safe.

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While the First Family can fully revamp their living quarters, there are plenty of changes they can't make — at least not without approval from the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. Historic rooms — like the Lincoln Bedroom — and public spaces — like the Green Room and the state dining room — are protected from changes without committee approval. So, while the White House is a home for the First Family, it's also a living museum of American history and so aspects of it can't be changed easily.

The collection is expansive, including everything from vintage four-poster beds to works by famous artists like Norman Rockwell and Georgia O'Keeffe, and the First Family will be able to pull from anything in the collection to decorate both the private and public spaces in the White House.

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George W. Bush wanted this painting close by.

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President George W. Bush, for example, chose a painting called A Charge To Keep by W.H.D. Koerner for his Oval Office decor. Bush took the name of his 1999 autobiography from the painting.

That said, they still have to get approval. The FLOTUS and her interior designer work closely with a White House curator to ensure that no changes compromise the history of the home.

They can: Use public funds to decorate the White House.

Congress allocates funds for redecorating the White House and the budget has been $100,000 per term since Bill Clinton's second term. This means the First Family can use up to $100,000 of taxpayer money to redecorate the space. However, they aren't obligated to use that money.

The Obamas opted to pay for their White House renovations out-of-pocket, something the Trumps could also choose to do. Of course, paying for the decorations out-of-pocket doesn't change the rules about making changes to historic aspects of the home.

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They can: Make unique additions.

Past presidents have made their own signature additions to the White House. The Kennedys added a swimming pool and Nixon added a bowling alley, for example. Obama had the White House tennis court adapted so it could also be used as a basketball court. While these big changes require approval, the Trumps could conceivably make a big change or two to the White House or its grounds.

They can't: Make sweeping structural changes.

While the First Family can make reversible decorating decisions and even petition for bigger changes and additions, they won't be able to walk in with sledgehammers and a contractor and gut the place.

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"They are not going to let Trump in and tear down the walls," Kate Andersen Brower, author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies told ABC News. "Some parts are essentially historic rooms and belong to the American people, not to the families who live there."

They can: Make the changes they've described.

In an interview with People, Trump addressed his plans for the iconic house — and it doesn't sound like he plans to try to duplicate the ornate decor of his penthouse.

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"If I were elected, I would maybe touch it up a little bit, but the White House is a special place," he said. "You don't want to do too much touching."

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